(1) Technical Field
The present invention is related to the field of wireless RF or optical communications and information (data) networking. More specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method for providing a networked and field addressable distributed antenna system for facilitating broadband wireless communications.
(2) Brief Discussion of Prior Art
As data processing continues to advance, the number and types of data processing applications are steadily increasing. In recent years, for example, it has become possible to use computer systems for the storage and playback of digital audio and video. Contemporaneously with increases in processing speed, computer networking has become extremely important for communicating between data processing applications. With ever-evolving communication networks such as the Internet and data delivery systems such as cable and satellite television, which provide users with rich information content, faster and faster inter-computer connections are required.
Presently, most high-speed connections in the range of megabit per second (Mbps) and up rely on either physical connections such as wires or fiber optic connections, or on point-to-point RF wireless connections with very limited range. A need presently exists for a wireless network which allows for coverage of a selective area inside of a larger megacell service area. The present invention proposes techniques and methods incorporating field distributed short-range repeater nodes that are networked in order to repeat a signal along a desired and dedicated path to a particular picocell within the megacell service area.